Novel heterogeneous fenton oxidation using magentic iron oxide-decorated carbon nanotube to remove endocrine disrupting compounds in wastewater and water

Abstract

Endocrine disrupting compounds are becoming a growing concern in our modern world. Bisphenol A, a known estrogen mimic, is produced on a massive scale exposing it to humans and the environment on a daily basis. Recent studies since 1995 have shown that bisphenol A has negative effects even at ultra-low concentrations. Unfortunately, bisphenol A is biologically recalcitrant and passes through most traditional waste water treatment methods. In order to develop an effective and efficient treatment method, a combined approach is proposed. Iron amended carbon nanotubes can act as a heterogeneous Fenton catalyst and as an adsorbent of the contaminant. This project synthesized and characterized a magnetite decorated carbon nanotube catalyst. Additionally the adsorption kinetics and thermodynamics were investigated in both batch adsorption and column adsorption reactors.